For each job available, there are three and a half people looking for work, and Lance Roberts wonders if the unemployment rate is 7.8 percent or 22 percent. Bill McBride demystifies how the rate is computed: “Most of the decline in the overall participation rate has been due to changing demographics.” Mark Thoma believes we can trust the data. Meanwhile, no one knows why a single mysterious computer program that placed orders (and then subsequently canceled them) made up 4 percent of all stock market quote traffic last week.

‏@ConnectedStrat Busy people get things done. Busy people don’t use being busy as an excuse for delays, non-responses & dropped balls.

@LeadTodayWhen you tell people it’s your way or the highway the highway starts looking pretty darn good.

@MeghanMBiroHire someone who understands what culture you’re trying to build

Bests of the Week

Eric Pangburn explains why you aren’t born great – and why that’s O.K. “When you understand that failure is your own fault, it’s easy to get depressed about it – but that’s not the real lesson here. … Rejection can be a great tool for self-improvement. Think of rejection as a form of free education. Whenever something you wrote gets rejected by a client or by a blog owner, ask why. Sometimes they’ll provide their reasons; sometimes you’ll be left to figure it out by yourself.”

Alice Walker says to go to the places that scare you. “If you want to have a life that is worth living, a life that expresses your deepest feelings and emotions, and cares and dreams, you have to fight for it. You have to go wherever you need to go, and you have to be wherever you need to be, and place yourself there against the forces that would distort you and destroy you.”

This Week’s Question: How would an online sales tax affect you?

Gene Marks owns the Marks Group, a Bala Cynwyd, Pa., consulting firm that helps clients with customer relationship management. You can follow him on Twitter.

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You're the Boss offers an insider's perspective on small-business ownership. It gives business owners a place where they can compare notes, ask questions, get advice, and learn from one another's mistakes. The blog also offers analysis of policy issues, and suggests investing tips.